The Iola women settlers founded a library when the township began. It was located on the second floor of the Northrup Bank, which was the first bank in Iola. Mrs. Northrup and the women of Iola continued to run that library until Andrew Carnegie gave $10,000 to build a new one in 1916. Eventually, Iola outgrew the library, and the Carnegie Free public library was replaced at the same site with the current Iola Free Public Library.

The Southeast Kansas Library System facilities are also located here. The genealogy department is one of the best in Kansas, and if you can't find your history here, you can go to the Allen County Historical Museum, and ask there.

For children, we have one of the finest children librarians in the country who does special projects to get young people to read, listen, learn, experience and enjoy books and how they relate to their lives.

The newly renovated library also features some Remington sculptures and a Birger Sandzen painting that he gave to the library.